Chapter Twenty-One: Chunnin Exam Finals
Round 2 – Matches 6, Semi-finals and…
The crowd cheered as Neji took the Gentle Fist stance and Hinata took her Wing Chun stance.
"Neji Hyuuga of the Leaf against Hinata of the Leaf! BEGIN!"
Neji lowered his stance as his Byakugan activated letting him focus entirely on Hinata, "When I win here Hinata-sama," he said sarcastically, "I will be accepted into the Main Branch Family and I can challenge Hanabi for heir status. Just as fate has decreed already." Neji taunted.
Hinata kept her face blank as she stood perfectly still, her eyes covered by her headband even though her Byakugan showed her everything anyway. She rolled her wrists, ready to unseal handfuls of senbon at a moment's notice even as she sent chakra to her joints to loosen them up for maximum flexibility, 'Keep calm and be ready.' she thought as she took a deep breath.
Neji's smirk stayed steady as he focussed on her, waiting for some form of reply, while all she did was stand and wait calmly. After five minutes, his smirk had faded to show a scowl as he waited for something from Hinata, "Well? Are you just going to stand there? Or fight me?" he asked.
Hinata just stayed still, showing no reaction as she continued to circulate her chakra throughout her body in a calm continuous flow.
Another ten minutes past the mumbling from the crowd was obvious, though as if there was some invisible signal, Hinata suddenly launched a single senbon at Neji which landed between his feet as the Hyuuga boy leapt back. Hinata went back to her position and waited calmly, her unseen Hidden Mist Jutsu slowly flowing out around her feet to the eyes of those watching without the Byakugan.
Neji landed and took a defensive stance, expecting some kind of follow up that never came as he saw Hinata's chakra begin to flow out of her body and into the air, 'What is she up to? The Hidden Mist Jutsu won't work on me, I can see through it.'
Hinata smirked slightly before she disappeared from normal view, the mist becoming too much to see through. It was at this time that Neji got impatient and ran forward, leading with his Gentle Fist Style.
Hinata's Wing Chun was easily able to block and parry every single attack he sent her way. She managed to do so for his whole barrage before he stepped back and led with a hard palm thrust towards her sternum.
Hinata crossed her arms as she lifted them in an upward motion, sweeping Neji's strike over her head as she stepped forward and put her leg directly behind his leading foot before she landed an elbow to his stomach and an uppercut, knocking him back and off balance before she turned in a circle while chakra built up in her hands, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SKY PALM!" she exclaimed.
###########
"EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SKY PALM!"
BOOM
Hiruzen's eyes widened as Hinata's attack blasted a clear gap in the mist that Neji was flung through before he rolled into a crouch and stood tall, blood and dirt on his body as he panted heavily in obvious pain, "Hinata... incredible, that was such a powerful technique." he mumbled.
##########
Neji coughed up blood as he panted before glaring at Hinata, 'How?! I've been trying to learn that technique for the past three months!' he wondered before he spotted her movements.
Hinata mirrored her previous spin and chakra built up in her palms again, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: SKY PALM!" she shouted again.
Neji frantically began to spin, a shell of chakra forming around him, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: ROTATION!" he exclaimed as he revealed his A-rank technique.
Hinata quickly ran at Neji as he began to spin, easily displacing her technique as she flung a handful of senbon at him. He came out of his spin with a kunai already in hand which he used to parry the senbon before he spun with the momentum once more and threw the kunai at Hinata.
Hinata spun away from the kunai while forming three one handed seals, "SECRET JUTSU: WATER NEEDLES!" Hinata exclaimed as the mist condensed around them and began to launch water needles as soon as they were formed with her sprinting right behind them.
Neji gritted his teeth as he once more began to spin, "ROTATION!" he shouted as he kept up the shield to destroy the attacking water needles.
Hinata leapt up into the air as the Water Needles ran out and Neji was about to slow his jutsu, though she finished her hand seals just before he could, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"
POOF
A house-sized mammoth appeared and fell on top of Neji's technique stomach first. It barely seemed phased as the Rotation drilled against it's belly. After a few seconds, Neji's technique fell, showing how much chakra it cost him to hold the jutsu while the mammoth finally landed on it's feet and looked down at Neji, swinging it's massive trunk to extend and reach for Neji.
The Hyuuga flipped over the trunk before it extended and tried to grab him again, forcing him to continue dodging as he retreated further and further back. His eyes focussing so much on the trunk trying to grab him that he didn't see Hinata leap forward and sprint down the trunk of her summoned animal before leaping at Neji while forming hand seals, "MAMMOTH STYLE: RUBBER EXTENSION!" She shouted as her arms suddenly stretched and reached out towards Neji.
The Hyuuga boy's eyes widened as the trunk began to heard him back towards Hinata, whose arms swept at his feet to try and trip him every time he set down a foot. Neji continued to flee and dodge before he leapt up in a back flip over her arms and landed on the mammoth trunk, running up it before he was flung up over the mammoth to escape the area and land with a roll against the opposite wall.
Hinata's arms retracted before she ran between the legs of her mammoth, while the beast she summoned turned slowly before facing Neji from behind Hinata. Hinata spun, unsealing her Naginata in the fluid movement before she hopped into the air, her mammoth's extendo trunk giving her something to land on before she used her chakra to stick to it as it reached towards Neji.
Neji barely had a moment to breath as he fled from her never ending onslaught. No matter where he ran, the trunk would move Hinata near enough to him that she could slash at him from some angle or another.
After a few minutes, Hinata landed a slash along his back and then another on his leg, before she spun and slashed at his face. Neji barely ducked the slash before he leapt at her in a reckless tackle that knocked her from the trunk and into the air, letting him grip her face tightly with his hand before he thrust it towards the ground, "I'll always win!" he shouted angrily.
POOF
As 'Hinata's' head hit the ground she dispelled in a cloud of smoke, making Neji's eyes widen before the mammoth's trunk slammed his back and made him fall to the ground next to the dropped Naginata.
"Wow, you didn't notice that was a clone?"
Neji turned and looked at the mammoth's head to see Hinata sitting their calmly, "A clone? When?!" he exclaimed as he looked between her and the dispelling smoke.
Hinata slid down her mammoth's trunk as it flicked at the end, letting her perform a graceful back flip before she landed back in the middle of the arena, "Just after I summoned my friend, while you were focussing on maintaining your Rotation to block the needles and then my mammoth, I knew you couldn't focus up here as well so I had a Shadow Clone continue the attack while I recuperated some of my wasted chakra," Hinata explained before she raised her hands and lifted her headband, tying it around her forehead before her eyes glared hard at Neji and she took a Gentle Fist stance, "Let's finish this cousin!" she exclaimed before running forward at Neji.
Neji gritted his teeth in anger before he charged at Hinata, the two of them running on a collision course before Hinata's naginata suddenly disappeared in a plume of smoke to reveal another Hinata that launched a handful of senbon.
Neji's Byakugan spotted the tiny needles and he turned to face them before he ducked and dove to the side, only noticing Hinata launch her own senbon at the spot he was about to occupy, he leapt up in a risky move that got him three senbon to the right leg and one to the left. He barely managed to raise his arms in a weak block as Hinata leapt towards him with her final move, "EIGHT TRIGRAMS: EIGHT GATES ASSAULT!" she shouted as she shut down his body's major chakra centres in only eight hits.
Neji gasped as his eyes snapped shut, then he was unconscious.
Hinata sighed as she came to a stop behind Neji, high-fiving her clone before both it and her mammoth dispelled. Hinata turned to the Kages and bowed politely before nodding to Genma as the man chuckled.
"Winner! Hinata of the Leaf!"
Naruto appeared in a shunshin and hugged Hinata, "Nice one!" Naruto exclaimed with a cheer.
Hinata laughed as Naruto lifted her into the air, he only put her down when Sasuke appeared next to them, "Alright you two, I get that you're excited, but now it's Naruto's turn." Sasuke said with a nod towards the opposite side of the arena.
Sand began to swirl and writhe around itself as Sasuke took Hinata and escorted her off of the battlefield. Naruto and Sasuke nodded to each other once before Naruto turned to face Gaara as the boy appeared.
Naruto nodded to Genma as the man spoke with his chakra enhanced voice, "Next match! Gaara of the Sand against Naruto of the leaf!"
Naruto smirked as the crowd erupted into more cheers. Naruto took the scroll off of his back and made a Shadow Clone – which took it from the arena and back up to the waiting area – while he crackled his knuckles and took the stance his mother had taught him.
Gaara's mouth twitched as he glared at Naruto, "Time to die Senju." he muttered as his Sand Armour lifted his body so that he was standing upright and his sand swirled around him.
Genma leapt back as he dropped his hand, "BEGIN!"
Naruto flashed through hand seals before taking out a kunai that suddenly engulfed in flames, "FIRE STYLE: HALO DANCE!" Naruto shouted as the launched fire at Gaara.
Gaara waved his arms, forming a few pillars of sand to raise up and block the incoming fire as more sand shot forward at Naruto as the blonde's Uzugan span, using a shunshin to suddenly appear behind all of the sand and Gaara himself.
Gaara barely had time to glance over his shoulder before Naruto's fist was blocked by his natural sand defence, though to Gaara's surprise, the sand was blasted away from the sheer power of the strike.
Naruto held an arm back as Gaara's gourd broke from his back and reached towards Naruto, "SAND COFFIN!" Gaara shouted.
Naruto disappeared again and appeared right above Gaara as the chakra in his hand formed a blue chakra sphere, "RASENGAN!" Naruto shouted as he thrust the jutsu at the sand defence, ploughing through it before his jutsu drilled into Gaara's shoulder as the boy tried to dodge.
The Sand Armour cracked before it shattered, showing that Gaara wasn't inside it. Naruto landed and rolled to his feet, looking as the Sand Clone fell to pieces and the rest of the nearby sand suddenly flowed towards him, "SAND TSUNAMI!"
Naruto's eyes span as he activated his shunshin technique, appearing high in the air before he spotted Gaara on the ground in the distance, Naruto used the shunshin again to move even higher into the air, far above the arena as he formed hand seals, "PEGASUS ART: WIND RIDER!" Naruto exclaimed as he began to glide around in a circle, circling the arena from above before he performed a hand seal, "MULTI-SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
Groups of ten Shadow Clones appeared and dive-bombed at Gaara in a kamikaze head butt barrage. Naruto managed to make a continuous stream of clones attack Gaara so much that the sand user made a defensive sphere of sand around him, making it thicker with sand as spikes began to jab out and pop the clones as they got close.
Naruto frowned before forming two more clones, both of which began to form hand seals, "NINJA ART: POISON FOG JUTSU: DISTANCE!" one clone exclaimed as it spewed forth a dense plume of poison fog that engulfed the ball of sand.
Naruto's other clone finished it's hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: HALO FLAME!" it shouted as it launched the Halo of fire that made the fog ignite and explode.
Naruto dive bombed towards the ground, performing a front flip as he sent his chakra through his leg, "HEAVEN'S KICK OF PAIN!" Naruto shouted as he kicked the ground just in front of the sphere Gaara was inside.
The ground broke apart and the sphere was flung up into the air, revealing it's hardened outer shell from Naruto's combined technique which made it so that most of the outermost layer was glass while the rest of it had hardened beyond Gaara's use other then the innermost layer.
Naruto's clones fell down past the sphere, both of them punching it higher into the air above the arena. Naruto leapt up to his clones as they continued falling and they threw him up after the sphere.
##########
The Hokage, Kazekage and Otokage stared in amazement at the skill they were seeing, "Naruto... geez, this is incredible." Hiruzen mumbled.
Jiraiya grinned from his place just behind Hiruzen, "Haha! Yeah he is! We came up with this plan during the break! Naruto is truly a tactical genius given the right tools."
Tsunade looked up at her son as he was thrown into the air, her grin spread across her face wider then anyone had seen before as she cheered for her son, "Go Naruto!"
##########
Naruto grinned as he heard his mother's voice, his eyes spinning as he used the shunshin to move higher and higher, punching the ball up higher as he did so until he saw the glass had been shattered off entirely, 'Time to finish this!' Naruto thought as he used the shunshin to move up into the air above the sphere.
Green chakra swirled around him as everyone watched the torso of Naruto's Humanoid form Susano'o form, catching the sphere like a baseball before Naruto and his technique spun in the air, "TAKE THIS!" Naruto shouted as he used his chakra to give his Susano'o his enhanced physical properties.
The sphere created a sonic boom as it shot down towards the ground at high speed, slamming right into the middle of the arena and forming a massive cloud of dust to be thrown up into the air, the whole stadium shook from the strike as Naruto fell to the ground, using a shunshin to lose all momentum and land safely from the fall.
As the dust fell the arena was revealed, a crater at it's centre with only a very thin and cracked shell of sand that began to shake.
Naruto sighed as he readied his shunshin to dodge anything that was coming before suddenly, a massive arm of blue-veined sand reached out towards him. He used a shunshin to get to the other side of the arena as the arm retracted into the sphere, 'What the hell?' Naruto wondered as his eyes saw the sudden random spiking of a dark chakra inside the shell of sand.
##########
The Otokage glanced up at the Kazekage and the Kazekage rolled his wrist, sending some of his gold dust around the corner.
The Hokage frowned as he felt the spike of chakra and noticed the sand, he sat back with a sigh as if in relief that both of the gennin weren't hurt while subtly his elbows nudged the thighs of both Jiraiya and Tsunade as the two stood by his chair.
Jiraiya continued laughing, patting the Hokage on the shoulder and tapping with his pointer finger, 'Jiraiya noticed it too,' the Hokage thought with a hidden smirk while Tsunade was distracted with how her son was doing.
##########
An ANBU in a black hood formed hand seals as he noticed the Gold Dust float past him, "NINJA ART: TEMPLE OF NIRVANA TECHNIQUE!" he muttered as feathers began to form above each conscious person in the arena.
##########
"Genjutsu?" Sasuke muttered as he looked up, his Sharingan seeing the multiple signals of a Genjutsu that was affecting people, "Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru. Something's going on..."
##########
Naruto sighed as he watched the sand shell fall, spotting Gaara with blood on his head, back and legs as the boy held a hand over his eye and shouted in pain, "Dude... it's just a few wounds, I can heal it all if you forfeit..." Naruto offered with an honest smile.
Suddenly, Kankuro, Temari and their Sensei Baki landed around Gaara, Gaara's two two siblings put his arms over their shoulders before they leapt off, "Hey! What gives?!" Naruto shouted as Baki dashed at him with a kunai.
Genma blocked the strike, "Naruto, the Sand and Sound villages are attacking us, follow those three and take anyone else you can with you. Take them down and keep fighting Chunnin Naruto Senju!" Genma said with a grin before attacking Baki.
Naruto looked up and around in awe as he spotted ninjas fighting everywhere, then suddenly, Sasuke, Hinata, Shino and Shikamaru landed next to him, "Naruto! It's an invasion!" Sasuke shouted.
Naruto nodded before he noticed that the others were silent, all looking to him for orders on what to do, "...Right, guys, we're going to capture the Kazekage's kids, and after taking them hostage we are going to make the Kazekage force his troops to stand down, got it?!" Naruto exclaimed.
The four nodded before Naruto ran ahead, "Let's go! Shino, did you bug them?" Naruto asked.
Shino's brow twitched at Naruto's choice of words, "Yes I did. I have a mark on the puppeteer and fan user, but my insects wouldn't stay on Gaara."
Naruto nodded, "Alright, you take point, we've got this!" Naruto exclaimed as they leapt out of the arena, Shino's dragonfly technique letting him fly ahead and lead the group.
##########
"NINJA ART: FOUR FLAME FORMATION!"
Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen stood back to back as Orochimaru and Rasa faced them on both sides, "What is the meaning of this Rasa?! Orochimaru is an S rank criminal even in your country!" Hiruzen exclaimed.
Rasa sighed as he lifted a hand to his cloak, "It's not like I have a choice," He said as he tore the cloak, mask and Kage hat off and revealed his cracked skin and black eyes, "He killed me and used some sick jutsu to bring me back. I'm under his control for the most part."
Hiruzen frowned and looked to Jiraiya, "I think you'd be best at handling him. Would you mind taking the lead and Tsunade can back you up?"
"What?" Tsunade asked angrily, "And leave you up against Orochimaru and... whatever those are?!"
"FORBIDDEN JUTSU: SUMMONING: REANIMATION!" Orochimaru shouted as three coffins began to rise out of the ground.
Jiraiya and Hiruzen's eyes widened, both of them familiar with the jutsu as they formed opposing hand seals, ""NINJA ART: JUTSU SUPPRESSION!"" they yelled in unison as the outer two boxes sunk back into the weird portal they came from.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed as she picked up on the intricacies of the boxes, "Coffins... marked, Fourth, Second and First..." she pondered before her eyes widened, "No way! Not the Hokages?!" she exclaimed.
The middle coffin fell open as the other two disappeared, making Orochimaru shrug as he put a kunai into the back of the man's head, "No matter, at least it's now three on three." Orochimaru said with a chuckle.
Hiruzen sighed, "...Okay, new plan?" he asked.
"No, it's okay, I'll fight my uncle." Tsunade said surely.
"Are you certain Tsunade?" the Hokage asked in concern.
Tsunade smirked and nodded, "Oh yeah, I totally got this," she said confidently as the Second Hokage – Tobirama Senju – launched a Water Dragon out of thin air, "HELL FIST!" Tsunade shouted as she punched the dragon into oblivion.
Hiruzen smirked as he ran at Orochimaru while forming seals, "Now is the time for your end Orochimaru! NINJA ART: TERRAIN SHURIKEN!" Hiruzen shouted as he launched numerous roof tiles at the snake Sannin.
Orochimaru cut the tiles down with his sword, "You wish old man." he said with a dark chuckle before darting forward as well.
##########
Naruto and his team – Hinata, Sasuke, Shino and Shikamaru – were rushing through the trees after the scent in the distance, but Hinata looked over her shoulder with a frown, "Bad news, there's eight Jonin coming this way guys, I think they've caught on to our plan." she said to the group.
Naruto turned after his next jump, "Anyone got a plan?" Naruto asked.
Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag, I'll take this, Naruto, can you give me one clone? That's all I need." he said before saluting the group, "Catch ya later guys." he said before dropping to the forest floor.
POOF
Naruto's clone dropped down after him as the group faced ahead again, "Do you think he'll be okay?" Hinata asked.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, If Shikamaru's plan doesn't work then my clone will at least get him out of there."
##########
A flare went off above the village.
"That's the signal!" a Chunnin shouted to a group of ready Shinobi.
Eight ninja put their hands on a large seal, "SUMMONING JUTSU: SEAL ACTIVATE!" they shouted in unison.
POOF
A large two-headed snake appeared and barrelled into the wall of Konoha, making it crack and many Shinobi and civilians react in fear as after a few more hits, it broke the wall wide open.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!"
The Sound ninjas paused as did many Konoha civilians as the snake disappeared from the attacking the wall and reappeared underneath Anko Mitarashi, facing those on the outside, "Hey Munmaru, switcheroo time." she said with a grin.
The two heads of the snake looked at each other and they seemed to shrug before turning to the Sound ninjas and lunging toward the scared silent shinobi.
##########
"I can see them! The puppeteer has broken off!" Hinata exclaimed.
Naruto turned to Shino, "Shino, since we can see the others now, would you mind taking out the puppeteer?" he asked.
Shino adjusted his glasses, "I will do so, good luck." he said before flying up above the trees before dive bombing and punching Kankuro's puppet the moment it appeared in Naruto's path.
Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke shot forward through the trees, Hinata in the lead as she chased down their targets.
##########
Temari gasped for air as she carried Gaara forward, 'He's pretty heavy when he's dead weight like this.' she thought before glancing over her shoulder as she heard a noise.
Temari leapt away as Sasuke's Bullet Punch hit the branch she had been previously occupying before Naruto appeared next to them and went to punch her.
"GET AWAY!" Gaara screamed as his sand burst out around him, knocking away Naruto and Temari as the mass of sand then swirled around him.
"Hinata! Take down Temari! Sasuke! Set him on fire!" Naruto shouted as he formed hand seals of his own.
"SANDSTORM SHURIKEN!" Gaara's voice shouted out from the cloud of sand.
"UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" Sasuke shouted as he launched his own Ninjutsu.
Naruto appeared behind Gaara's sand cloud with a flaming kunai, "HALO DANCE!" Naruto shouted as he launched flaming arcs towards the cloud.
Suddenly, the wind and weapons from Gaara's attack began to rotate in a violent sandstorm that disrupted Naruto and Sasuke's attacks before all of the sand suddenly froze and condensed, revealing that Gaara's entire body was covered in sand to form a demonic looking Tanuki that laughed sadistically, "COME AND FIGHT ME!" Gaara's mismatched voice screamed before he blurred at Naruto faster then he should've been capable of.
Naruto barely raised a block in time as Gaara's claw slammed him back through a tree, but Naruto flipped, landing against the next tree before leaping back at Gaara while catching the tree that he had been thrown through, swinging it like a bat that threw Gaara's form up into the air.
Sasuke formed hand seals before he crouched, his Chidori sparking into existence in his black gauntlet, "CHIDORI BULLET! Sasuke shouted as the eyes on the gauntlet glowed and he shot past Gaara as nothing more then a blur.
Sasuke landed next to Naruto as the two looked up at Gaara, the menacing thing holding it's shoulder in obvious pain as Gaara's blood seeped through. The two looked at each other and smirked as they felt their Seals pulsing at the large volume of chakra use, "Wanna kick it up a notch?" Sasuke asked as he took off his glasses and put them in his ninja pouch.
Naruto's smirk grew as he took off his Senju Jacket and tossed it aside, "Seems unfair that he's the only one... let's do it!"
Gaara roared as he charged at Sasuke and Naruto, ignoring their chakra fluctuation as black marks began to move across their skin, "DIE!" Gaara shouted as he slammed his enlarged fists towards the two.
BOOM
The low standing branch was obliterated as Gaara was flung back, Sasuke's purple chakra throwing away one arm while Naruto's red chakra did the same for the other. The two landed on the ground as Gaara slammed into a tree as suddenly, Hinata appeared between them while shouting as her Curse Seal burst as well, letting pinkish-purple chakra burst around her as she formed hand seals and channelled her chakra into the most destructive jutsu she knew, "WATER STYLE: EXPLOSIVE WATER SHOCKWAVE!" She exclaimed before spewing forth her attack at Gaara.
Naruto and Sasuke smirked as the lake-full of water slammed into Gaara from Hinata's mouth, throwing him back through the forest into a clearing where he got stuck against the debris of other fallen trees.
Gaara only just rose to his odd Tanuki legs, panting for air as he looked up to see Naruto and Sasuke appear in matching Shunshin techniques on either side of him, both of them holding a Ninjutsu in their hand, "CHIDORI FLAME!" Sasuke exclaimed as he aimed for Gaara's shoulder.
Naruto shouted as he thrust forward his own Ninjutsu. One that he had learned from watching Jiraiya do it, "GRAND RASENGAN!"
Gaara lifted his arms, causing two shields of sand to rise up from the ground that the two slammed their techniques into. Naruto's attack slowed as it grinded through the technique, while Sasuke's Chidori Flame cut right the shield and was redirected, only managing to cut a gash down Gaara's actual chest and sear the sand into glass. Gaara shouted in pain as Naruto's Rasengan finished grinding through the other shield, slamming his jutsu into Gaara's torso, "TAKE THIS!" Naruto exclaimed as his jutsu expanded.
Gaara shouted in pain as he was flung through a few trees into the distance, the two paused and caught their breath as Hinata landed between them again, "We did it guys! He's unconscious!" she said as her Curse Seal faded.
Naruto nodded and clapped his hands and focussed, his red chakra converting into medical chakra and healing himself back to about 90%, then he took a deep breath, his Curse Seal receding back before he turned to the other two with a grin.
Sasuke looked down at his hands as his gauntlets went back into the storage seals on his arms. He smiled as he saw the marks of the Curse Seal, 'I like this power... I wonder how many other enemies there are back at the Leaf.' he thought with a smirk as he chuckled slightly.
Hinata took her headband off of her eyes, her Byakugan deactivated as she sat down with a sigh of exhaustion, "I can grab the bitch over there." she said with a smile.
Naruto frowned at her actions, 'Once again her Curse Seal is messing with her... I wonder if she realises it.' he pondered before shrugging. Naruto was about to speak up when suddenly, he felt a massive chakra pulse. He turned to face the rising smoke cloud that enveloped a massive amount of the forest above them, "It's not over guys!"
Hinata looked up and scowled as she activated her Byakugan, her eyes widening as she saw the whole thing, "Th-that's the One Tailed Demon! The Sand Tanuki!" she exclaimed.
Sasuke smirked as he cracked his fists, his Curse Seal pulsing, "Finally, something to test this power against for real." Sasuke said before dashing forward.
""Sasuke!"" Hinata and Naruto shouted as he disappeared towards the beast.
"We have to get help! He's insane!" Naruto shouted.
Hinata was about to reply when suddenly, a mass of Sand reached up from the ground and grabbed her, trapping her against the ground as a crazy voice echoed, "I WANT YOU SENJU!"
Naruto used his chakra scalpels and cut the sand, but the moment he did it returned and was instantly was solid again, there was nothing that could get the girl out, "Gaara! Let her go!" Naruto shouted.
"Th-the head!" Hinata gasped as the sand crawled up her neck, "You have to wake up Gaara! The Ichibi's head-!" Hinata barely managed to get out before her head was covered in sand.
Finally the smoke and sand had taken form and dropped from Naruto's vision, letting him look up at the massive demon that grinned down at him, "GAARA'S NOT HERE BOY! YOU PUT HIM TO SLEEP!"
Naruto paled before his eyes hardened and he nodded, his Curse Seal moving over his body once more as red chakra burst out around him, "Fine, I'll take you down and free her." Naruto said with pure determination as his Uzugan morphed into the Mangekyou, "SUSANO'O!"
Shukaku stepped back as Naruto's green Susano'o torso came into existence, though this time, the torso that surrounded Naruto wore light armour and had a drill-like sword in it's right hand and red emblem glowing just above Naruto's head inside of it.
Naruto and his Susano'o charged forward and leapt into the air as he began to use his Pegasus Art: Wind Rider as Shukaku took a deep breath and blew out four blasts of condensed air, "PRESSURISED AIR BULLET!" Shukaku screamed.
Naruto shouted as his Susano'o thrust the drill forward, the point of it sending fire around the drill to destroy the bullet.
BOOM
Naruto's Susano'o appeared from the smoke cloud unharmed and destroyed the next three before it's ribcage opened up, "Take this! TSUKUMO!" Naruto shouted.
Shukaku shouted in shock as the fast barrage of chakra needles lodged into it's body, "Ouch you bastard!" Shukaku shouted as it raised it's hand towards the Susano'o.
Naruto looked down as large amounts of earth and sand began to rise up towards him and his Susano'o as he glided closer to Shukaku, 'Crap!' Naruto thought as he tried to come up with something.
"CHIDORI FLAME!"
Sasuke broke through the topmost layer of the rising sand, turning it into a horizontal layer of glass that fell down to stop the rest of the rising sand as Sasuke continued towards the Shukaku. Naruto swooped down, his Susano'o letting Sasuke land on it's hand before he threw Sasuke at Shukaku's head.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he was flung through the air. As he levelled out in the air above Shukaku, his Sharingan eyes narrowed as he spotted Gaara on top of the demon's forehead, "Got it!" Sasuke exclaimed as his Chidori got brighter once more and he lead with his black gauntlet.
"SUSANO'O: HALO FLAME DRILL!" Naruto shouted as his drill was surrounded by rings of fire and he thrust it at Shukaku's chest.
The Demon's eyes widened as it focussed on the attack, blocking the technique with it's arms as parts of it began to get torn off and destroyed by the attack.
Sasuke smirked as he saw his chance and the eyes on his black gauntlet lit up, "CHIDORI BULLET!" Sasuke shouted as he shot through the air.
Shukaku looked up at his shout and gritted his teeth in concentration as sand began to whirl up around Gaara, slowing down Sasuke's jutsu as he cut through the sand on his way to Gaara before suddenly, the sand shifted and diverted his attack with the last of the shield protecting Gaara, Sasuke went to attack him only for the sand to wrap around his arms and legs and hold him up.
Naruto gritted his teeth as his Susano'o's ribcage opened up once more, launching not only another Tsukumo attack, but this time Naruto along with them as he soared up towards Shukaku's face.
Naruto's red chakra swirled around his fist before he uppercut the massive demon with his Herculean strength, making it stumble in shock as the drill hit his torso, the needles hit his arms and chest and Naruto Shunshinned above his head, "Sasuke! Fire Shield!" Naruto shouted as his Susano'o remained still since he no longer was controlling it.
Sasuke closed his eyes and moved his fire chakra over his body to stop him from taking any damage from the heat or flames. His Sharingan snapped open as he was ready.
Naruto finished his hand seals, using the jutsu that Sasuke had taught him, "UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" Naruto shouted as he blasted Gaara's shell and the sand around Sasuke.
Sasuke fell to his knees as he tore his arms free, looking up at Naruto as he landed on the other side of Gaara, Sasuke punched forward once more, "BULLET PUNCH!" Sasuke shouted as he flashed forward at Gaara and punched his stomach.
Gaara's eye snapped open as he gasped for air.
"NO! I just got here!" The Shukaku screamed as it lost the glow in it's eyes and the sand structure began to fall apart.
Naruto appeared behind Gaara in a shunshin as the redhead grabbed Sasuke with his sand, his hands glowing green as he slammed a palm into the back of Gaara's head, disconnecting his conscious mind from his chakra.
Naruto fell to his knees as he caught Gaara, the red head's expression fearful and exhausted as he suddenly lost all of his energy and stared up at Naruto weakly. But then Sasuke grabbed the two of them and threw them up into the air, "Naruto! Summon!" Sasuke shouted as he jumped after them.
Naruto smirked as he formed hand seals, his Curse Mark receding as two different Pegasi appeared in plumes of smoke. Kaze caught Naruto as he flew down through the air to see if Hinata was free yet as Sasuke leapt up and caught Gaara, landing on the other pegasus with a grunt before it flew them both after Kaze and Naruto.
Naruto landed from Kaze with a slide, his Pegasus trotting to a stop as it watched him dig through the sand desperately before he found a hand, "Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he pulled her out.
Hinata coughed and gasped for air as Naruto sat back and formed hand seals, instantly putting one of his hands on her clearly damaged arm, "N-Nii-kun?" she asked before weakly spitting out a mouthful of sand and blood.
Naruto smiled at her, his Mangekyou finally fading back to his normal Uzugan as his Medical Ninjutsu healed all of the scrapes and bruises on her torso, "You'll be fine Hinata." Naruto said as he turned to look behind him as Sasuke landed atop the fake-looking odd blue pegasus with a mane of rainbow, causing Naruto to smirk as he recognised it from the Summoned realm.
Sasuke hopped to the ground, a confident smirk on his face as his Sharingan glowed red and his Curse Seal pulsed across his skin, "What now?" he asked, hoping for a challenge of some kind.
Naruto smiled peacefully, "If you feel like it, double back and assist the others, but bring all of the living Shinobi our side have captured back here. Also have a summons bring back any of ours that are heavily injured." Naruto said.
Sasuke nodded and turned back to look at Gaara's weak form atop the rainbow-mained pegasus, "You stay down or else." Sasuke threatened before he turned and was about to dash off.
"Wait Sasuke!" Naruto began, "Use the Curse Seal to Summon some tigers so the chakra isn't wasted and then deactivate it. We still don't know everything about them remember?"
Sasuke nodded and formed hand seals as he ran off.
Naruto turned back to Hinata as he lifted her up bridal style and set her softly on Kaze's saddle, "Just hold tight Hinata-chan, I'll get everyone ready to move and then..." Naruto paused as he noticed both of the pegasi's ears twitch.
Naruto turned and his eyes narrowed as Temari dove at him from the trees above, shouting in effort as she realised she was already spotted, she raised a kunai, "Get away from my brother! WIND STYLE: WIND BLADE!" she shouted as the last of her chakra wrapped around her kunai and turned it into a sword length chakra sword.
Naruto's eyes span as he saw the chakra enhancing the blade. He stepped between Temari and Hinata to meet her attack, using one chakra scalpel to block her move so he could grab her wrist, "Stop this! It's over!" Naruto exclaimed as he shoved her back.
Temari grunted from his powerful shove before lifting her weapon again, "Never! Just let my brother go!" she shouted as she ran at him again.
Naruto sighed as he battered her attack aside with his chakra scalpel and whistled, "Then I'm sorry about this." he said as she began to run at him again.
Just as Temari swung and Naruto once more easily blocked the strike, Kaze kicked out with her hind legs and hit Temari in the shoulder and chest, knocking the air out of her while dislocating her shoulder.
Temari dropped the kunai that Naruto kicked away to lodge into a tree before Naruto knelt forward and caught her, "Now listen, I'm going to heal you and tie you to your brother, if you're quiet and obedient neither of you will be harmed further, I can guarantee that." Naruto promised as he proceeded to do so.
Temari was quiet as she appeared to trust his words, letting him pop her shoulder back in to place almost painlessly before he put her behind Gaara and had her hold him up. Naruto then tied their legs together and underneath the blue Pegasus' stomach to make sure they stayed on.
As Naruto finished doing this, he pat both Temari and Gaara on the shoulders and smiled as they tiredly looked at him, "Cool, just chill here and we're all good... say, didn't you have a fan?" Naruto asked politely as he moved over to Hinata and begun healing her again, making the barely conscious girl smile at him.
Temari nodded and glanced over to the direction she had come from, "She disarmed me before..."
"Relax, we got it."
Everyone looked over as Shikamaru lead the group of Shino, Sasuke, two tigers and the unconscious Kankuro. Shikamaru held up the clearly broken fan, "Sasuke took us on a detour on the way back," he explained as he turned to Naruto, "I sent your clone back to the village to act as a medic for others. That ok?" Shikamaru asked.
Naruto nodded as he and Sasuke tied Kankuro behind Temari before Sasuke hopped on Kuro and Shikamaru hopped onto Koru while Shino's wings materialised once more.
Naruto hopped on to Kaze behind Hinata, he gripped Kaze's mane with one hand as the other hand went to Hinata's stomach as it glowed green, holding her safely while healing her as Kaze's wings spread wide, "Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed before the Pegasi took off into the sky with Shino and the Tigers dashed into the forest.
##########
The war ended quickly after that.
Upon seeing the Ichibi defeated outside of the village, the vast majority of the Sand Shinobi quickly gave up and surrendered. Those who didn't ran to the arena to join the Kazekage, only to find that Jiraiya had managed to seal the man's Gold Dust into a Storage Seal before landing a Rasengan to his back, defeating him and knocking him out before the Sannin helped his previous team-mate Tsunade finish off her uncle Tobirama Senju.
After a few minutes Jiraiya managed to force the Master Shinobi into a position where Tsunade landed a punch to the man's stomach and launch him into the burning seal-wall Orochimaru's ninja had made, reducing the body to ash as Tsunade and Jiraiya ran to aid their Sensei.
When they joined up with him, he had just made two Shadow Clones that charged Orochimaru before Jiraiya and Tsunade landed behind Sarutobi, "Let's take him down Sensei!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he stepped forward in a familiar fashion reminiscent of the first time he learned to use a Toad Jutsu.
Tsunade stepped forward and formed hand seals for a Leaf Village Standard – the Fire Ball Jutsu – while smirking at her Sensei.
Sarutobi smiled in confidence as he formed hand seals for the technique he had taught Orochimaru, "Triple combination!" Hiruzen exclaimed.
"NINJA ART: TOAD OIL BULLET!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he spat out a ball of oil.
"WIND STYLE: GREAT BREAKTHROUGH!" Hiruzen exclaimed as his technique spread the aerated oil through the air.
"FIRE STYLE: FIRE BALL JUTSU!" Tsunade shouted, igniting the massive technique that sent a wave of flames towards Orochimaru.
The man gritted his teeth in anger as he slammed his hands on the ground, "SUMMONING: RASHOMON!" Orochimaru shouted as he brought up the Demon Gate to block the attack.
Tsunade hopped up as Sarutobi re-summoned his staff to his hands – The Monkey King Enma transformed into the unbreakable weapon – letting her land on it feet first as he swung it through the air, launching her forward through the air like a missile as the flames began to die down and she punched the Gate, making it bend under her power before she kicked the door again, making it actually bend open before she leapt back.
Jiraiya ran underneath her, a ball of swirling chakra in his hand that he slammed into the heavily damaged gate, "RASENGAN!" Jiraiya shouted as the jutsu burst the gate open completely.
Orochimaru's eyes widened as he hesitated in his hand seals, seeing Hiruzen's bo staff extend through the smoke and appear only a meter or so before it hit Orochimaru's chest.
Orochimaru pushed off the pole before leaping up and finishing his hand seals just as Tsunade appeared in front of him with her fist pulled back, he opened his mouth and his sword appeared and plunged through her shoulder, stopping her punch and managing to throw her away.
The Snake Sannin landed and clapped his hands as he finally used the jutsu, "EARTH STYLE: EARTH DRAGON JUTSU!" he shouted and parts of the roof ripped up and launched towards the approaching Hiruzen.
Hiruzen flashed through hand seals, "FIRE STYLE: DRAGON FLAME BOMB!" he exclaimed as his jutsu made Orochimaru's explode.
Jiraiya caught Tsunade and threw her back towards the Hokage before he charged at his traitorous ex-teammate, though as the two engaged in Taijutsu, Jiraiya's hair suddenly extended to stab into Orochimaru's arm, doing major damage to the forearm before Orochimaru's fangs sunk into Jiraiya's neck.
POOF
The real Jiraiya appeared from the smoke of his Shadow Clone, slamming another Rasengan into Orochimaru and this time, directly into his face.
Orochimaru's extended neck flailed around as it flung back, making his body fling overhead as Hiruzen had Tsunade launch him towards Orochimaru's body with her good arm. Hiruzen formed hand seals as he grabbed Orochimaru, "LIGHTNING STYLE: DOUBLE PARALYSIS JUTSU!" Hiruzen shouted.
Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru's eyes widened as suddenly, both Hiruzen and Orochimaru were paralysed by electricity as they fell through the air towards the seal-wall.
""AAAHHHH!"" Hiruzen and Orochimaru shouted as Hiruzen's arms up to the elbow were turned to ash along with Orochimaru's arms up to the biceps, legs up to the waist and left side of his face burned to a crisp.
In an instant, the seal-wall was dropped and the Sound Four grabbed Orochimaru and leapt away. Tsunade was instantly by Hiruzen's side healing him while Jiraiya and a few watching ANBU leapt after them, only for one of the Sound Four to split into two people while the one with six arms, turned to face everyone, "SPIDER ART: SPIDER-WEB NET!"
The ANBU were caught in the net as Jiraiya's hair reached out in chakra spikes, cutting the webbing around him as his continued after his traitorous team-mate.
The Sound Four and Orochimaru landed on a rooftop, as the two ninja that had been one slammed their hands on the ground, summoning a small version of the Rashomon Gate that opened for them to head through the dark portal inside.
Jiraiya landed and leapt forward, "Damn you!" he shouted as he thrust his Rasengan at the Gate. But the moment it slammed shut, it repelled his attack before disappearing with a plume of smoke, making the Sannin grit his teeth and turn to the ANBU as the Spider Web was finally handled by their chakra-blades, "Find and take down all Sound Ninja! Now! We end this!"
##########
Less then an hour later, the battle was over.
The moment the Kazekage was 'unconscious' and Orochimaru was gone, almost all of the fighting stopped, with only a few high powered Jonin from their respective villages leading one final attack towards the Hokage's tower.
Big mistake.
Since many of the civilians were evacuated and the rest were protected, it was little effort on the ANBU's part to use multiple fire style techniques to create a tornado that sucked them all up and burned them to a crisp before it rose in the air to disperse far above the village.
The only downside to this; was that clouds began to form quickly after that.
By the end of the day the Shinobi of the Leaf had sent the Sand Shinobi back to their village while keeping the Kazekage sealed in the hospital prisoner ward. All Sound Shinobi had been sentenced to jail, leaving nothing but a team of three gennin and one Jonin to face the council of the Hidden Leaf village.
##########
Konoha's Council of Elders
##########
"Welcome everyone, I thank you all for being here!" Hiruzen said loudly in a tone that made the room of 48 council members and 10 guests became silent, "Firstly, I would like to congratulate and thank all of you for your actions during the invasion. Secondly, I-"
"Hold on Hiruzen," one of the Council Advisors said as he turned to look up at the Hokage, "I believe the Second matter should be on who the new Hokage will be since you are obviously less able bodied then any other candidates."
Hiruzen smirked slightly as he nodded, "Indeed, I agree with your assessment Danzo, which is why I ask Tsunade Senju to rise." he said as he looked to the Senju Clan Head.
Tsunade smirked as she stood, knowing already what he wanted since they had discussed it beforehand, "I Tsunade Senju, hereby request to be acknowledged as your successor should the need arise."
"Acknowledged. Tsunade, you shall be named the Fifth Hokage upon my retirement or death." Hiruzen said with a smile.
There was a moment's silence before everyone realised what had just happened and most of the council began clapping and congratulating Tsunade at the news, causing the one named Danzo and Hiruzen's other two advisors to sit in silence at the announcement.
"Since she needs to learn to understand the role of Hokage," Hiruzen began again, "I will be asking her to replace Koharu."
The older woman appeared shocked at the announcement, but rose to her feet and stood to the back of the hall as Tsunade came and took her new seat.
"Next," Hiruzen began as he looked down at the sheet in front of him, his arms still lowered to his lap underneath the table, "Is those who I think is ready for promotion to Chunnin. And almost all of these select Shinobi were agreed upon by either the Kazekage, Otokage, or both, with only one exception to the rule. It is the boy who managed to find a way around his weakness and become the powerhouse we of the Leaf need to keep inspiring and growing; Rock Lee of Konoha!"
Rock Lee's eyes widened as he stood with the other nine guests, he jumped to his feet before bowing to the Hokage, "Thank you Hokage-sama!" Rock Lee shouted before straitening up.
The Hokage turned and nodded to Tsunade as the woman revealed a Storage Scroll.
POOF
Six Chunnin vests appeared spread across the advisor's table as Tsunade threw one to Lee that the boy caught and put on with a grin that sparkled, though before he could speak up, the Hokage spoke again, "Now, the reason we've gone first with yours Lee, is that there is a special condition to your promotion. Since you are restricted to Taijutsu and Ninja Tools, we'd like you to try and master a specific tool we have which should help you against most – if not all – Ninjutsu you confront." Hiruzen said before looking over to a civilian council member.
The person stood and bowed before revealing a Storage Seal on his ribcage, "I've kept it safe like you asked Hokage-sama." the civilian said as he held his shirt up.
An ANBU member appeared a pressed his hand against the seal.
POOF
Turning to Lee, the ANBU showed the weapon to the boy as the Hokage explained, "The Second Hokage created many weapons and Ninjutsu, though there were more that he encountered and didn't understand. And though he never found a way to get past this shield, he did manage to put down the ninja using it and take it for the leaf village, this, is a Vibranium Shield."
Lee put the circular shield on his forearm, feeling that it was surprisingly light, he strapped his arm in before saluting with his other arm, "Thank you Hokage-sama!"
The Hokage nodded, "Your welcome Lee, now, would the following five people step forward; Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Naara, Naruto Senju, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata of the Leaf."
The five stepped forward in line, Shino and Shikamaru showing minimal emotion while Naruto and Hinata stood with pride.
"Each of you fought valiantly not only during the Chunnin exams, but also during the invasion, no matter the enemy you faced, you persevered in the most amazing ways. Shino, you've managed to take one of the village's most unstable and unknown jutsu and master it to impossible levels. Then using these skills you managed to capture one of our three major targets in the invasion. Thank you for your service, Chunnin Shino Aburame!"
Shino stepped forward and bowed to the Hokage as his own father came down from his place in the council member area to give him the vest, "Congratulations son." Shibi mumbled.
Shino nodded as he put on the vest, "Thank you father," he began before turning to the Hokage, "Thank you Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded to the boy as he and his father returned to their original places, "Next up; Shikamaru Naara, you managed to formulate a plan to hold of a handful of Jonin. If this isn't enough to prove that you're ready for the promotion to Chunnin, then I don't know what is. We thank you in your service and reward you with this promotion!" he exclaimed as Shikamaru stepped forward.
Shikamaru sighed and bowed respectfully, "No problem, do I have to wait for the rest of them?" he asked with a nod towards the others waiting for the promotion.
Hiruzen frowned as Shikaku gave his son the Chunnin vest, "Yes, you do. And be grateful, it's an honour to receive this promotion." Shikaku mumbled as he nudged Shikamaru.
Shikamaru sighed and went back to his seat as Hiruzen cleared his throat, "Anyway… next up, the three members of Team 7 – the team that took down the Ichibi demon Shukaku – Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata."
Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata stepped forward, all three of them smiling as Tsunade passed the three remaining vests to Kakashi, the Jonin stepping up to his students with an eye smile, "Congratulations you three."
Hinata retrieved her's first and stood proudly, smiling up at Tsunade and Kakashi while off to the side, Hiashi seemed to be watching the entire situation with regret. She took off her trench coat from Anko and put the vest on, leaving it undone as she put her cloak back on over it.
Naruto – who had left his Senju Cloak hanging over the chair he had been sitting in – put the vest on and left it undone, he immediately bowed to Kakashi before he turned to the Hokage's section with his mother, the old man Hokage and even Jiraiya in it before bowing once more.
Sasuke nodded in thanks to Kakashi as he put on the vest and zipped it up properly, adjusting his shirt's collar underneath it before he bowed to the Hokage.
Hiruzen watched the whole situation with a smile on his face as the three of them stood at attention, "From now on, your team will function without Kakashi as your team's sensei. He will still teach you while you're in-village, but unless you're sent on an A-rank or higher mission, he won't be accompanying you." Hiruzen explained.
The trio nodded, accepting the new roles as they moved back to Shino, Shikamaru and Lee.
"Alright, newly appointed Konoha Chunnin, once again, congratulations, and thank you for coming. Please let yourselves out, there will be some specific individuals waiting for each of you." Hiruzen said with a smile towards the new Chunnin.
##########
CHAPTER END!
there you go everyone! Please keep reading and keep reviewing!
Fyi my other stories are back in the works too if ya'll are interested :)
Love ya and leave ya, Alky out!